Rob Cordemans moves into third place on the all-time Hoofdklasse strikeout leader board in a 10 – 1 Amsterdam Pirates win over HCAW. He fans rookie Peter van Doesburg to tie Craig McGinnis at 1,571 then passes him later in the inning by whiffing Randy Reiph. Only Bart Volkerijk (1,942) and Peter Callenbach (1,636) are still ahead of Cordemans.

Erik Bedard racks up 11 strikeouts over five innings on his way to leading the Pirates to tie a team-record 17 whiffs in a 6 – 3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ryan Dempster of the Cubs and Homer Bailey of the Reds both celebrate their birthday by pitching against each other. It is believed to be the first time in major league history that opposing starting pitchers are both pitching on their birthdays.

The great Mariano Rivera, baseball’s all-time save leader, suffers a torn ligament in his right knee while shagging fly balls during batting practice before the Yankees’ game with the Royals. He is carted off the field, and at 42, the injury appears to be career-ending, but he will be back to pitch a final season in 2013.

A.J. Burnett is trounced for 12 runs in 2 2/3 innings as the Cardinals rout the Pirates. He allows the most runs by a Pirate hurler in 80 years and gives up more earned runs in under 3 innings than anyone else since earned runs first became an official statistic in 1913, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Chipper Jones hits a two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning to give the Braves a wild 15 – 13 win over the Phillies. The Braves come back twice, down 6 – 0 against ace Roy Halladay, and down by 4 runs in the 8th, only to see their closer, Craig Kimbrel, blow a 13 – 12 lead in the 9th. Carlos Ruiz drives in 7 runs in a losing cause for Philadelphia. Jason Giambi also hits a walk-off homer today. The Elias Sports Bureau reports that it is the first time two players over 40 hit walk-off homers on the same day.

Jered Weaver throws the 10th no-hitter in franchise history for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, disposing of Minnesota, 9 – 0. He gives up a single walk in the game, while one batter reaches on a dropped third strike. The no-no comes less than a year after teammate Ervin Santana threw one against the Indians in July of 2011.

With the final payment received on the record $2.15-billion purchase price, Frank McCourt’s turbulent era of the Dodger ownership comes to an end. The team’s new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and incoming club president Stan Kasten, includes Mark Walter, chief executive of the Chicago-based Guggenheim Financial, who arranged the financing and holds a controlling interest in the franchise.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter wins his 1,000th game as a major league skipper when the O’s defeat the Yankees, 7 – 1. Brian Matusz wins his first game in 11 months while Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy homer off loser Phil Hughes. Matusz had gone 0-12, 10.47 in 14 starts since beating the Athletics on June 6, 2011.

The sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt to “Guggenheim Baseball Management” becomes official. Mark Walter is the controlling partner, Stan Kasten is named team President, while basketball star Magic Johnson is a part owner and one of the public faces of the new ownership group. The group paid a record $2.15 billion for the team. The Dodgers then start the new era on the right foot, beating Colorado, 7 – 6, in spite of nearly blowing a 7 – 0 6th-inning lead. Dee Gordon hits his first major league homer, Mark Ellis has four hits, and A.J. Ellis has a homer and 3 RBI for L.A.